assessments and involve minorities in the design and implementation of measures to ensure the implementation of Article 14, including the right unequivocally guaranteed under Article 14 (1). The languages protected The notion of ‘minority language’ is not as clear as it appears at first sight. It may mean: a) the language which is considered as the traditional and historical language of a minority group; b) the language which is used in practice by a minority group (e.g. Russian among persons belonging to the Roma minority in several countries of the former Soviet Union); c) the language which is used by a majority within a minority group or which is used most of the time by a minority (or a combination of both); d) the language which simply differs from the language of the majority. The notion of ‘mother tongue’ which is sometimes used in legislation and in State Reports is equally unclear as it may mean: a) the language transmitted by the mother (with all the gender biases this brings regarding the transmission of cultures and identities); b) the language one learned first; c) the language one knows best; d) the language one uses most freely; e) the language with which one is identified by him or herself or by others as a ‘native speaker’. It should also be noted that the word ‘mother tongue’ does not appear at all in Article 14 and it can therefore be argued that, following the principle of self-identification enshrined in Article 3 of the Framework Convention, persons belonging to national minorities and minorities as groups may freely identify themselves on the basis of the language they perceive as being ‘their’ language. Languages form a continuum and the exact borders (linguistic and geographic) of languages are and will remain flexible and changing. Human beings are capable of mastering several languages. Human beings can also know and use various languages at different levels and within different domains. In our times of globalization and enhanced interaction it is in any case evident that multilingualism gives strong functional, cognitive and emotional assets. The Framework Convention itself presupposes the encouragement and support for bilingualism (through a combined implementation of Articles 12 (1) and 14. For those reasons continuous consultation with the persons and groups concerned (pupils, parents, teachers, minority representatives, authorities at central and local levels) is essential in the design of successful language education programmes. This flows also from the right to participation of persons belonging to national minorities as guaranteed under Article 15 of the Framework Convention. The importance of teaching of and through the medium of the Romani language is increasingly discussed in State Reports and in the Opinions of the Advisory Committee as a necessary element of the efforts to ensure access to education for the Roma. In the Opinion on 25